Reuters reporters Approached them a wide treasure documents during the visit Iran’s soft power centers in SyriaIncluding diplomatic, economic and cultural offices.
They photographed nearly 2,000 documentsBusiness deals, economic plans and official correspondence have left them in one place without moving. Later, Reuters used reporters Artificial intelligence technology to analyze Documents.
On Thursday, May 1, the Reuters News Agency issued a special report on Iran’s ambitious economic project to rebuild Syria. Plan prepared in the form of official 33 -page study By the political-economic sect of the Iran embassy in Syria, he refers to many times American Marshall Project.
According to a report by the Iranian embassy in Damascus, United States Marshall ProjectAfter World War II, he was able to rely on the United States of America by “creating economic, political and social cultural status”. Reuters reported that Iran was trying to implement the same approach to the Middle East and rebuild Syria, which was disastrous by many wars.
33 pages document It was obtained when the Iranian embassy was robbed in Damascus and fell into the hands of the Syrian capital The rebels who opposed Bashar al-Assad.
Strategic report proposes it Iran creates an economic empire At the same time, his friendly country, Syria, increases his influence and makes him a ‘lunar state’.
In addition to this strategic document, Reuters news agency interviewed a dozen Iranian merchants And within the structure of his research, in which he examined the network of Iranian companies operating in the ashes of sanctions, that is, areas that are difficult to impose sanctions.
Reuters have visited some people Iranian investment plans They are stagnant for various reasons. Programs include weapons, local corruption, sanctions and the bombing of the Western countries, which are unable to advance due to the bombing of the Western countries.
- Of these investments, there is a power plant worth 411 million euros At the beach of Ladakia It was built by an Iranian engineering company, but It is now unused.
- In addition, the railway bridge in the Euphrates River built by the Iranian charity system Connected to Iranian leader Ali Jamenne As a result of the US alliance’s air strike, he fell many years ago, and Syria did not fix it or not fully paid the project -related costs.
About 40 projects that appear in the remaining documents from the Iranian embassy refer to only a small portion of Iran’s total investments in Syria. However, only in this limited set, the news agency Reuters estimates that loans are pending loans In the Syrian government with Iranian companies at the end of the war, at least $ 178 million. Some former members of the Iranian parliament have estimated that the Bashar al-Assad government’s total debt has exceeded $ 30,000 million.
In December, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bahai expressed hope that Syria’s new leaders were fulfilling their duties with Iran. However, this does not seem to be a priority to the new Syrian government.
“Iran has hurt the Syrian people and you need a lot of time to heal,” said Ahmed Shara, president of the new Syrian Republic, in a conversation in December. For many in Syria, Basher al-Azad and Iran’s support for its fighter’s departure celebration And happiness. But the Syrians associated with Iranian companies and projects have a double feeling because Iranian companies have lost their income source.
Responsible for Iran’s economic plans in Syria
The person responsible for implementing Abbas Akbari, a director of construction projects and a member of the Revolutionary Guard, has been appointed as the director of the headquarters to promote economic ties between Iran and Syria in Iran’s economic plans in Syria.
The purpose of the headquarters is to expand the trade between the two countries and restore the capital spent on Iran During the Syrian Civil War. He was the same group led by the same group that prepared the 33 pages of the Marshall Program in the United States. Reuters claims that the letters were invented with Akbar’s signature at the Iranian embassy.
The course of the time Iran’s economic existence in Syria is up to Akbari for the previous period. Group Mapna, one of Iran’s largest infrastructure companies, signed her first important agreement in 2008 to build a power plant near Damascus. After a while, the latter’s contract has been sealed to build another power plant Near the Holmes.
With the first signature at the same time Mapna group contracts and the economic relations of the two countries have caused a wonderful leap. In 2011, Syria was covered in waves of struggle Arab Spring in the region.
AdvertisementIran’s strategic investments led to allies including Syria, Iraq and Lebanon Tehran is the creation of a regional axis Called ‘Print of Resistance’; The network of armed groups and governments is to oppose the influence of Israel and the West in the region.
Mapna Group does not abandon its “only brothers”
In December 2011, the activities in Syria entered the dangerous phase. Seven Iranian workers who work They were abducted by the insurgents at Jantar’s power plant, and according to the report, two of them died. However, Mapna increased its investments. The company won contracts to repair Syrian electricityThis created less than half of its ability before war in 2015. The most ambitious project is to construct the Lascia power plant.
From the beginning, This program faced problems like corruptionDelay and low quality employees of payments. According to the documents received, the Syrian government has ordered the use of contractors affiliated with Assad’s family. Syrian engineer who worked In the Laskie project, he said that some Iranian workers had entered the project for mere fact that they had special connections.
In November 2024, Mapna announced that a month before Assad’s fall, the Ladakia project advanced by 50%. Iranian embassy letters refer to the government Reuters reported that Syrian unilaterally changed the conditions of contracts and to compensate for the full price of the Ladacia power plant.
Advertisement2018 letter from Mapna’s DirectorBBAS Aliabadi, who is now the minister’s ministerWritten in a complainant tone: “Mapna Group has not left the Syrian Electricity Ministry’s brothers in the seven -year civil war. Foreign companies were abandoned Syria “.
Mapna has never publicly revealed how exactly how much has been spent in Syria or how much investment has been recovered. The company and the relevant authorities did not respond Reuters comments requests.
According to the Reuters Research Report, Mapna’s problems are no exception. Many Iranian companies in Syria faced similar crises. Andn Another picture of n, which includes plans.
Between 2015 and 2020, Iran and Syria have signed a series of contracts To compensate for Damascus’ loans including allocation of agricultural land to Iran, licenses of mobile phone operators, housing projects, mineral concessions and oil exploration deals.
AdvertisementHowever, The Reuters report states that many of these projects They face the same issues related to sanctions, employees and security, and eventually, some benefits.
This other partner of Syria, Russia, focused on high -profit sectors such as oil and gas. In 2015, Iran spent about $ 6,000 million in Syria annuallyAccording to UN estimates. Iranian authorities have described the exaggerated assessment, but have not released any official person.
(Tagstotranslate) Syria
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